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HOW THE MEDIA INFLUENCED MENENDEZ BROTHER’S CASE
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HOW THE MEDIA INFLUENCED THE CASE OF MENENDEZ BROTHERS
Introduction
Mr. and Mrs. Jose Menendez were Cuban immigrants who were lIving in USA. Apart from being handsome, Menendez was a successful businessman in Beverly Hills. They treated their two sons, Erick and Lyle well and gave them most of the things they desired. They attended good schools, lived in good houses, drove good cars, played tennis in private courts, and were members of the famous country clubs. Many people in the neighborhood admired this family set up. The boys were talented tennis players, and the parents accorded them the necessary assistance into becoming re-known national tennis players (Thornton, 2012).
Case Summary
A sad instance for this family is that the boys were overly spoiled. They planned to execute their parents so that they could inherit the entire wealth, which they possessed. A clear sign of premeditation is when they travelled to a town called San Diego in order to buy shotguns, which were used for the execution. In establishing an alibi, they arranged to meet one of their friends in Santa Monica two days later. In that day which was August 20, 1989, they entered into the sitting room and met their parents who were watching television whom they short gunned to death (Soble, and Johnson, 1994).
The Menendez Brother’s Trial
Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez who were aged 68 and 70 respectively had used guns to kill their parents Jose and “kitty” Mendez. The incidence occurred on august 20, 1989 at the family’s residence in Beverly Hills. The prosecutor’s assumption was that the brothers were influenced by a desire and greed for their inheritance of the family’s wealth. At this time, the wealth was estimated to be at $14 million. The defense side theorized that the brothers had murdered their parents out of fear for their lives after days of sexual, physical and psychological abuse by the parents.
The superior court at Los Angeles County charged the brothers with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The prosecutor asked the court to issue a death sentence against the two brothers. The defense side found it hard to dispute the evidence after the brothers admitted committing the felony. The defense therefore, had to rely on another strategy whereby, they claimed that Eric and Lyle had lived in fear due to several counts of abuse (Soble, and Johnson, 1994).
The brothers claimed that the parents were psychologically and physically abusive in the entire period they had lived together. Lyle claimed that his father had molested him sexually for approximately two years from the time he was aged 6 to 8 years. Eric gave the same testimony about being sexually molested by the father. In his testimony, Eric claimed that his father had sexually molested him since the time he was six up...